Lately, I'm seeing far too many "Seals" that are intended to give the appearance of credibility and trust. In fact, now you can make up your own online seal, as I have done here, and in my "Does E-10 Ethanol Gas Hurt Older Cars' Fuel Systems?" post.
To me, there has been a "watering down" of the potential good that could be achieved through "authority seals", by companies or organizations that try to be legitimate (vs. the fun website above). This 9/29/04 article entitled "Seal of Approval" says: "The premise behind an online seal is not unlike that of the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval that my parents' generation found comforting. Consumers recognize a Web site displaying a seal as being a high quality site, or at least that's the idea."
Here is why I'm skeptical about trusting all "authority seals", even the more established ones like TRUSTe.
Many organizations who put out "authority seals" may have good intentions, but their initial test procedures and follow through policing may leave a lot to be desired. This was proved by research done by Ben Edelman when he says in his "Certifications and Site Trustworthiness ": "Some sites that are widely regarded as extremely trustworthy present such seals. But those same seals feature prominently on sites that seek to scam users -- whether through spyware infections, spam, or other unsavory practices." Ben's "Adverse Selection in Online "Trust" Certificates" has many valid points.
On the other hand, let's not negatively judge all "authority seals" as bogus, since some organizations may do it right. The Green Seal Certification Process says: "Products are then evaluated for compliance with the applicable Green Seal standard. Test data is gathered for the environmental and performance requirements outlined in the standard. The manufacturing facility is then visited to evaluate quality control procedures. This ensures that the current product is representative of future production." It goes on to say: "Once certified, products are subject to annual monitoring to ensure that the product offered for sale continues to meet the Green Seal standard."
The key for consumers is to do their homework. Check out the company or its website first by doing a Google search for that company's name and website address plus "...compalints" or "...problems". Also don't forget that even when you see and "authority seal", to STOP * THINK * (RESEARCH) * CLICK.
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